


canned heat

by erurification



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Japanese Levi, M/M, Mob AU, Period-Typical Racism, churning out eruri AU cos still in denial about snk 84, mob boss erwin because why not
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-10
Updated: 2016-12-07
Packaged: 2018-08-07 20:51:34
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 14,221
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7729264
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/erurification/pseuds/erurification
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>If you can't pay your debts to Erwin Smith, then you can pay with blood instead. </p><p>Some sort of non-linear 1920s Mob AU type thing.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. on a rainy night

**Author's Note:**

> I was inspired upon seeing [this](http://y-seho.tumblr.com/post/67768453688/%EC%97%90%EB%A3%A8%EB%A6%AC-%EB%9F%AC%ED%94%84%EB%B6%81%EC%97%90-%EB%93%A4%EC%96%B4%EA%B0%94%EB%8D%98-%EC%95%BC%EC%BF%A0%EC%9E%90au) fanart of mob boss Erwin and "mob wife" Levi. I was originally planning on turning the AU into a full multi-chaptered fic taking place during the American Prohibition era, and even did a lot of research into the history. I never felt motivated to actually write it though, until SNK 84 happened. Gotta keep Eruri alive ya know.
> 
> This is actually a prologue, but I'm not sure if I will continue this or leave it as a one off seeing as I have other fics I never finished. We shall see.

It had started to rain by the time midnight rolled around, the entire city blanketed by a low hanging sheet of gloom. Most of the lights had gone out, but a few flickering streetlamps remained to illuminate the street corner with an eerie spectral glow. Reeves pushed his spectacles up the bridge of his nose as he peered anxiously out at the street, vision obscured by the film of fog that had crawled across the windowpane.

He straightened the papers on his desk restlessly, taking out his brass pocketwatch to check the time. Six minutes past midnight. His visitor was late. He tucked the object back into his breast pocket and began nervously straightening the papers again to calm himself down. It was another chilly late autumn night but beads of sweat had begun to gather on his forehead, he hastily wiped the perspiration away with his shirtsleeve.

A nondescript black car pulled up to the edge of the sidewalk, screeching to a halt in front of the old accountant’s shop. Everything was still for a few moments before the car door opened. A tall blond man in a suit and black overcoat stepped out, opening up an umbrella before extending his hand to help a second figure out of the car. The blond man’s companion was small, dressed not in a suit but a kimono and geta sandals. Reeves had never seen anything quite like it.

The bell hanging on the shop door jangled loudly as the blond man let himself in, tailed closely by his curiously dressed associate and their driver. Reeves knew both the blond man in his driver, this was their third time meeting at an ungodly hour here in his shop. One would have to be living under a rock to not know who Erwin Smith was. After all, the man was king of the city’s criminal underbelly and practically had the entirety of the police force in his back pocket. He was often seen in the company of Mike Zacharius, a bear of a man who served as both his driver and enforcer.

The third man, however, Reeves did not recognise. He was slight in figure, dwarfed by both Erwin Smith and Mike Zacharius. But he was rather pretty in a curious sort of way, with hair blacker than polished ebony and petal-like lips. Though Reeves did not dare say so, he quite reminded him of an exquisitely crafted china doll.

“You’re late, Smith,” Reeves said, his voice coming out as little more than a wheeze.

Erwin only smiled, closing his umbrella and propping it up against the doorframe as if he owned the place.

“I do apologise for making you wait,” he replied in a maddeningly calm voice, “But keep in mind that I came from the other side of the city. It was a long drive for us, so I hope you’ll make it worth our while.”

“Who’s that?” Reeves demanded, gesturing at Erwin’s kimono-clad companion.

“This is Levi,” Erwin answered evenly, “My spouse and business partner.”

There were many rumours regarding Erwin Smith that were whispered back and forth around the city, but one of the most popular was about his spouse. The stories said that Erwin had travelled to the East when he was a young man, where he paid for and fell madly in love with a Japanese prostitute. Despite his father’s threats to disinherit him, Erwin asked for that prostitute’s hand in marriage and brought him back with him to America. Reeves had never been one to believe idle gossip, but perhaps there was some truth to those rumours after all.

“I don’t want him in my shop,” Reeves protested, “This is a respectable business, it’s been in the family for generations. You’re going too far, Smith, by bringing your Japanese whore here. If someone sees that I’ve allowed a prostitute to enter-”

“Levi isn’t going anywhere,” Erwin interrupted, and his voice had suddenly become hard, “We are conducting business on my terms, you are in no place to demand provisions. Do you understand?”

Mike let out a snort of laughter as Reeves nodded meekly, glancing nervously back towards Levi. He hadn’t even noticed until now that Erwin’s spouse carried a katana sword, tucked neatly into his obi at the waist. The sudden realisation made him stiff with apprehension.

Levi’s gaze had turned to him now, an amused look in his long-lashed grey eyes. Reeves knew that look well, it was the same look his wife’s cat had when it was watching a mouse scuttle across the floor. He shuddered, quickly looking away. Something about those eyes terrified him, made him want to run and never look back. _Witch eyes_.

“Well, now that you understand, we can get on with it,” Erwin continued, “Your payment, please.”

Reeves had begun to sweat again, and he quickly wiped his forehead yet again before reaching into his desk drawer to produce an envelope fattened with wads of cash. He placed the envelope onto his desk, pushing it towards Erwin. Erwin then nodded at Levi, who stepped forward and opened the envelope.

The shop was silent save the sound of Reeves’ nervous breathing as Levi thumbed quietly through the bills. He counted the money twice, before slipping the stack of bills back in the envelope.

“Four hundred,” Levi told Erwin, glancing back at his husband over his shoulder, “Doesn’t seem right to me.” Aside from a clipped accent, his English was almost perfect.

“It’s the correct amount,” Reeves insisted, “If you do your calculations-”

“Do you think I’m stupid?” Levi cut him off, “Let me see your books.”

“With all due respect, I am an honest man. Four hundred is exactly what I owe.”

“I said, let me see your books.”

“I will gladly show you how I calculated the amount,” Reeves tried again, “But I assure you, anything beyond that isn’t necessary in the slightest.”

“Enough with the excuses. Show him your damn books,” Mike growled, and Reeves shrank back in terror as the man advanced towards him.

“All right, all right,” he wheezed, “Just give me a moment…” The back of his shirt was  starting to become soaked through with perspiration as he turned to the shelf behind him and pulled out a thick book of transaction records. He passed it over to Levi with shaking hands, mentally going through all of the prayers he’d been taught as a boy at Sunday school. None of them seemed to bring any comfort.

Levi seated himself at the opposite side of the desk, opening the heavy book and flipping through the pages. The room once again fell silent as he examined the figures, Erwin’s hand resting idly on his shoulder. Reeves coughed nervously, his heart beating wildly in his chest as his fingers inched back towards the handle of the desk drawer. There was a revolver inside that he kept hidden securely under a box of loose coins. If he could just get to it…

“Would you look at that,” Levi said suddenly as Erwin leaned over to see the numbers that his spouse was pointing at, “Stingy bastard’s taking us for idiots. He collected a total of seven hundred from his clients this month. So we’re missing one hundred and sixty.”

“We agreed on eighty percent, no?” Erwin asked, looking at Reeves. His voice was dangerously low, and by this point Reeves’ entire body was drenched in sweat. “Are you disrespecting our agreement, Reeves?”

Reeves panicked.

He threw his desk drawer open and grabbed the revolver with sweat-slick hands, aiming it straight at Erwin. He tried to pull the trigger, but Levi was faster. He pulled the katana from its sheath and lunged across the desk, taking Reeve’s hand off at the wrist in a flash of steel. Reeves toppled backwards, and both the dismembered appendage and revolver fell onto the floor beside him.

Reeves howled in pain, blood gushing violently from the stump as he clutched it frantically to his chest in a pitiful attempt to stem the bleeding. His blood had splattered all across the front of Levi’s kimono and was dripping from the end of his blade, flecks of it dotted across his china doll cheeks.

“Look what you’ve gone and done, making me get all dirty like this,” Levi told Reeves coldly as he continued to scream, “It’s disgusting.” He prodded at Reeves’ chin with the tip of his blade, nicking the flesh and drawing forth another fat bead of blood as he babbled desperately in terror.

“I should take your head for that,” Levi continued, “But I’m feeling generous tonight, so I’ll let you off this time.” He pressed the tip of his blade harder against his chin, causing Reeves’ frightened squeals to reach a fevered pitch. “But if you threaten my husband’s life again, I won’t hesitate. I _will_ kill you.”

“You have until tomorrow to give us the rest of what you owe, seeing as you’re in no use to man nor beast in your current state,” Erwin informed him curtly as he picked up the envelope of cash and tucked it under his arm, “Don’t test my patience, Reeves.”

Then they were gone as soon as they had come, leaving Reeves to bleed alone on the floor of his shop.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I believe $400 USD would have been equivalent to around $5,000 in 1920 but someone correct me if I calculated that wrong.
> 
> The title "canned heat" refers to an alternative substance people would make during the Prohibition as an alcohol substitute. The stuff actually turned out to be poisonous.


	2. debts owed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A lot of people asked for a continuation, so uh, I tried?

Eren didn’t know how long he’d been sitting in the holding cell, wrists cuffed together and a bruise smarting sharply on his cheek. There were no windows and no visible clocks, no way of telling the time or how much of it had passed since he had been unceremoniously tossed inside.

He groaned, rubbing his bruised face and wincing in pain. He remembered being punched at some point, but as for who had done it, he couldn’t really say.

In all honesty, what Eren had done to land himself here was a stupid thing, the sort of incident that could be chalked up to the hot-headedness that was considered natural in boys of his age. He’d been walking back home from the store with Jean after running some errands for the boss, and they’d encountered three boys from Dot Pixis’ crew. The ensuing scuffle escalated when someone drew a gun and shots were fired, causing a panic in the middle of the street. Next thing Eren knew, he was being knocked upside the head by a policeman’s truncheon, and when he regained consciousness he found himself sitting in a dank and musty cell.

“Hey!” he called out, voice hoarse. “Hey! Is anyone there? I need to piss!”

He received no answer, and with a defeated sigh, he let himself slump bonelessly against the cold cement wall behind him. Was there not even a guard or policeman nearby? Truth was, the last thing he needed to do was piss. If anything, he was dying for a drink of water. He was parched, throat dry and lips cracked, and his tongue felt like cotton inside of his mouth.   

Eren stared unhappily at the ceiling, wondering if Jean was somewhere in here, too. Or had he managed to run away on his own? And what about Pixis’ boys?

To be fair, Jean had warned him not to confront the lads from Pixis’ crew when they had spotted them coming down the street, but Eren wasn’t really the type of person who always used his best judgement. Or listened to Jean, for that matter. As Levi always said, Eren didn’t seem like he understood the phrase “think before you act” very well at all. Of course, Eren would always vehemently deny it. But Levi was always right.

The thought of Levi made Eren groan in exasperation again. “Shit,” he moaned aloud to no-one in particular, “He’s gonna _kill_ me.” He had bunked off from school to meet up with Jean and carry out the tasks assigned to them by the boss, and that was exactly the sort of thing Levi hated. In fact, Eren had spent many nights sitting at the kitchen table while all his friends were out at the cinema, glumly flipping through school readers and making his way through countless pages of arithmetic problems while Levi watched him like a hawk.

The sound of footsteps brought his attention to the dark corridor just past the cell’s iron bars, and Eren scrambled forward to get a look. He expected to see a police officer come down the corridor, but who approached instead was none other but Levi himself. Speak of the devil. Cringing in anticipation of the verbal lashing he knew he was about to receive, Eren shrank sheepishly back as Levi came to a stop in front of him on the other side of the bars.

“What did I tell you?” Levi demanded, crossing his arms over his chest as he glowered at Eren, “I told you to go to school and then to come straight home afterwards. I didn’t ask you or Jean to loiter around, waiting to get into trouble.”

Just as Eren expected, Levi was infuriated about the fact that he hadn’t gone to school that day.

“But the boss told us to-”

“I don’t care what Erwin asked you to do,” Levi snapped, cutting Eren off before he could finish trying to justify himself, _“I_ told you to go to school.”

“Nobody my age goes to school any more!” Eren protested, “Everyone’s already out working, and that’s what I should be doing, too! I don’t want to waste my time adding some stupid numbers and reading some stupid books all day when I could be making myself useful and do my share! I mean, look at Jean. He doesn’t go to school anymore, and he already does so much stuff for the boss every day!”

If there weren’t a set of iron bars separating them, Levi might’ve slapped him, so Eren supposed that there was at least one reason to be grateful about being locked up in a cell at the moment. Levi was quiet after Eren’s outburst, his features tense, and Eren knew that he was doing everything he could to stop himself from shouting at him.

“Listen to me, Eren,” he finally said through gritted teeth, “Erwin and I appreciate and respect your loyalty. We truly do. But you don’t want to work for Erwin for the rest of your life. I know you’re just a kid, and all the youngsters like you think you’re invincible. You are not invincible, Eren. And you have no idea what kind of a game Erwin plays.”

“Then what about yourself? Why do you still work for him?”

“Because he is my husband. And I do it so you don’t have to. What did he ask you to do, anyway?”

Eren shrugged. “Nothing much. He just told us to get a message from this weird old man.”

“What old man?”

“Er, I think his name was Lobov, or something like that?”

Levi’s expression darkened for a moment, and Eren flinched fearfully backwards out of instinct. He knew that look that Levi got very well, and he knew it meant that there would be hell to pay later.

“Um, did I do something wrong?”

“No, Eren,” Levi sighed, “It’s nothing that you need to worry about. Next time, you listen to me, all right? And let me deal with Erwin. In fact, I plan on having a _discussion_ with him about what happened tonight. Just be patient for now, I’ll get you out of here.”

“You gonna bust me out?”

“Don’t be stupid. I’ll get the higher ups to send the order down.”

“How can you do that?”

“I can be very persuasive when I want to be,” Levi replied simply. “And besides, the police chief owes Erwin a favour. In the meantime, you had best think about what I’ve told you. I never want to see you miss school again because you got into trouble with the police.”

And with that, he was gone, leaving Eren to sit alone in his cell wondering what on earth was going on.

 

* * *

 

Nile Dok had a million places he’d rather be at the moment. For instance, it would be nice to be at home right now, listening to the radio with Marie and enjoying a cup of coffee by the fire. Or at the seaside with his children, watching them run up and down the sand dunes chasing gulls and screaming in delight as the waves licked at their ankles.

But the unfortunate reality that he was stuck in his office when he should be already on his way home for the evening. As chief of the city’s police force, this was an occurrence that happened far too often to him for his liking. It seemed that he spent more time in the office than he did at home with his family.

Currently, Nile was swamped in paperwork following an incident that had happened on the east side of the city earlier that day. It was stupid, really. Just some stupid teenage boys getting into a fight on the street. But what made the situation complicated was that a firearm had been involved. Officers had apprehended three of the five boys involved, while the others had gotten aways. Two of the boys they caught were known to have connections with local mobster Dot Pixis, and the third was associated with Pixis’ infamous rival Erwin Smith.

And to think, Nile and Erwin Smith had grown up together! They’d been next-door neighbours growing up, and they played together all the time when they were boys. They went to school together, fought in the war together. And when Erwin returned to America after travelling to the East with a young Japanese fiancé in tow, Nile had even been one of the select few who were invited to attend the wedding.

Nowadays, Erwin was mostly a pain in his arse. But you had to hand it to him. Erwin had always been clever and resourceful, and he always found ways to work around the law. There wasn’t a whole lot Nile could do about it, really.

“Sir?” His secretary, a young woman by the name of Hitch, poked her head into the doorway, “Someone’s here to see you. It’s Erwin Smith’s little moll.”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” Nile groaned. Levi Smith was not someone who he wanted to deal with today. “Tell him I’m not here.”

“That’s what he said you’d say. You can’t fool that one, chief. You should know that by now.”

“Fine,” Nile grumbled, throwing his pen down in frustration. “Fine, okay. Send him in.”

“Whatever,” Hitch answered, voice flat and expression bored. She disappeared, and seconds later Levi was in her place. Thankfully, he was unarmed so far as Nile could tell, but it wasn’t as if his men would dare frisk him for any weapons. If Erwin Smith was to hear that anyone had laid a hand on his spouse for any reason...well, that wasn’t an issue that Nile wanted to deal with at all on top of his already bloated workload.

“Good evening, Levi,” Nile muttered, gesturing half-heartedly at the visitor’s chair on the other side of his desk. “Nice to see you again. Please have a seat.”

Levi sat down soundlessly, his gaze sharp and unnerving. He was wearing a black kimono with a twisting white pattern embroidered up the side. They were likely meant to represent vines or something like that, but it reminded Nile unpleasantly of some sort of venomous serpent. Both Levi and Erwin could be unsettling without even having to say a single word, in that sense they were perfect for each other. No wonder Erwin had been so madly in love with him despite his own stern and formal personality.

“So,” Nile began a little uncertainly when Levi remained silent, swallowing nervously, “What can I do for you today?”

“You have my boy locked up in one of your disgusting, dirty little cells,” Levi answered sharply, “I want him out. Now.”

“You mean Eren Jaeger?”

“Who else would I be talking about?”

Just as always, Levi was in no mood to beat around the bush. Which was just as well. The sooner this conversation could be over, the better. Even if they weren’t really supposed to be associating with one another anymore, Nile could still hold a pleasant conversation with Erwin if he wanted to. But Levi was a different story entirely. Nile suspected that Levi had never really liked him very much at all. As far as he was aware, Nile had never done anything to offend Levi personally. But Levi probably had a strong dislike of cops in general.

All Nile wanted was to do his job and then get the hell out of the office so he could finally go home for the night. But he knew that Levi was not going to make this easy for him.

“I’m truly sorry that we’ve upset you,” he began, fully aware that he was treading on thin ice, “But I’m afraid I can’t do that. We can’t release Eren Jaeger until we’ve finished our investigation and determined that the firearm we found at the scene was not in his possession.”

“Don’t give me that bullshit,” Levi snapped, “I couldn’t care less about your investigation. Get him out of there.”

“Erwin and I might go way back, but that doesn’t mean that the people involved with him are immune to the law,” Nile replied, “I have a city to serve. I hope you can understand that, Levi.”

Levi’s eyes narrowed, and Nile gulped audibly.

“This has nothing to do with the law,” he said, voice dangerously low and eerily calm, “We’re talking about a debt you owe here. Don’t tell me you’ve already forgotten what my husband did for you in France. He lost an arm to save your sorry arse. You owe him your _life_. Now I don’t care what you need to do to make it happen. Just get Eren out right now.”  

Nile honestly didn’t have any way to argue with that. It was true, Erwin had shielded him from a mortar shell in the trenches during the war. Nile had been virtually unscathed save a few cuts from the shrapnel, but Erwin’s right arm had been blown clean off. It was a memory that haunted him to this day, plaguing him with constant guilt.

“All right,” Nile sighed wearily, putting up his hands in defeat, “I’ll ask my men to release him.”

“Good,” Levi said, finally satisfied. He rose to his feet, smoothing down the front of his kimono. “I expect Eren home in time for dinner.”

Nile sighed again as Levi looked at him expectantly, and he made a vague gesture with his hand. “I’ll see what I can do.” Just like his husband, Levi was a tenacious one. He had the same maddening habit of never letting things go until he got what he wanted. And Nile knew that he’d happily stand here and stare him down all night if he didn’t agree with all of his demands.   

“Thank you, Nile.”

“Yeah, whatever. My pleasure, I guess.”

“I mean it," Levi retorted firmly, “I’m clueless as to why, but my husband has a very high opinion of you, Nile. And we know you have ambitions to run for mayor one day. When that happens, you can be assured that you’ll have funding and complete support from Erwin.”

Lovely. Funding from a gangster. Just what he needed if he was to run for public office. But of course, Nile didn’t say anything. He only nodded weakly in response, unsure of whether Levi’s statement should leave him grateful or worried.

“Well, have a good night,” was all he could bring himself to say as Levi left, “And give Erwin my regards.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm actually really fascinated with the Prohibition period of American history, but as you can tell I took a lot of liberties with historical accuracy lol. My excuse is that I'm not from America.
> 
> Anyway, I'm not sure if I'm gonna continue this fic as full narrative with plot, I'm just having a lot of fun creating relationships between the characters and determining where they fit in this world and particular era. I do have a little backstory in mind in regards to how Erwin and Levi met, maybe I'll explore that a little more if I write another chapter...


	3. tokyo, 1915

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> idk what I'm doing tbh but I guess this chapter is a little longer because I got carried away by eruri backstory oops

Eren honestly wasn’t surprised when an officer came down the corridor and told him he was free to go. Levi had said he was going to get him out, when Levi said he was going to do something, one could be sure as hell that was going to do it. Eren had no idea exactly what kind of strings Levi had pulled to arrange it, but he didn’t want to find out, either. In any case, all he had to do was collect his belongings and walk right out the door.

Jean was waiting for him outside of the police station, leaning flippantly against the side of the building as if he hadn’t been involved in the same incident that landed Eren there in the first place. Eren sent a scowl his way, and Jean only grinned in response.

“Took you long enough,” Jean told him as they headed down the street, “I’ve been waiting here for ages.”

“Shut up,” Eren grumbled, “Fat lot of help you were back there.” He stuffed his hands into his jacket pockets and kicked petulantly at a pebble on the pavement. Jean was annoying enough most days, and he was even more irritating to Eren in this particular moment than usual. It just wasn’t fair that he’d been caught and Jean hadn’t.  

“Hey, it’s not my fault you run so slowly,” Jean retorted, “And besides, I’m not the one who just _had_ to pick a fight with Pixis’ boys. I even told you not to. So now you know what happens when you don’t listen to me.”

Eren’s scowl only deepened.

“I really hate you sometimes, Jean. So, why are you here? Did the boss send you over to pick me up or something?”

“Nah, Levi did,” Jean replied, “I mean, I have better things I could be doing right now, but he said he wanted me to make sure you came straight home without running into any more trouble.”

“Christ, he’s not my mother.”

“Might as well be.”

Both boys were silent for a while as they continued walking down the street. Even if he couldn’t stand Jean sometimes, Eren supposed he should be grateful it was him who came to collect him and not Levi himself. He’d probably drag Eren back home by the ear like he was an unruly child, nagging non-stop at him the whole way about how he hadn’t finished his schoolwork. But it wasn’t as if Jean would have dared to say no if Levi asked him to do something.

Still, something about Levi’s visit to him at the police station felt strange. Never before in his life had Eren ever heard Levi explicitly tell him, or anyone else, to disregard instructions from Erwin. Levi himself never went against anything that Erwin said either, and Eren would know - he’d been living under the same roof as them for years now, ever since the couple had taken him in after the death of his parents. If there was anything he’d learned about Levi from all of those years, it was how utterly devoted and unfailingly obedient he was to his husband. In fact, if Erwin asked Levi to shoot himself in the face, Eren was quite sure that he’d do it without hesitation. He had never questioned a single thing that Erwin said, until now.

Eren thought about bringing it up to Jean, but decided against it. It wasn’t exactly Jean’s business, and he doubted that Jean could do anything about it, either.

“Say, you think Levi will let me stay for dinner?” Jean suddenly asked, breaking the silence between them, “I’m starving, and he does make a damn good meal.”

“No way, you’re not invited,” Eren snapped back, giving Jean a shove, “Not after you ran off without me when the police came to save your own skin.”

“That was your own fault! Anyway, I was only joking,” Jean snickered, clearly enjoying Eren’s bristling reaction, “But in any case, we’d best hurry up. Levi’s gonna cut my balls off if I don’t get you back before dinner time.”

 

* * *

 

Dinner went by quietly, and as soon as Eren was finished eating, Levi sent him straight to his room to finish his schoolwork in preparation for the following day. With his own dinner finished and the table cleared, Erwin retreated to his study to have a glass of whiskey and read the newspaper.

The whiskey, of course, was from his own personal collection that he had begun stocking as soon as rumours of an alcohol ban hit the streets. While Prohibition had hit many Americans hard, Erwin’s business had flourished underneath it. He made his fortune smuggling bootleg, operating speakeasies all over the city, and running guns. He’d once had hardly even a penny to his name, and now, he was one of the wealthiest men in the city. And one of the most dangerous as well.

Of course, Erwin couldn’t have done it alone. He had help from a select group of loyal followers, and his own spouse.

Erwin was well aware of the many rumours circulating the city about how he and Levi had met. Some said that Erwin picked him up in a brothel and was so enamoured that he bought him up entirely from the brothel owner, others claimed that Levi was an assassin who fell in love with his mark and betrayed his masters to run away with him. While those stories were amusing to hear, none of them were quite true. What really happened wasn’t quite that fanciful.

In truth, Erwin had travelled to Japan in 1915 with the intention of investing in the country’s burgeoning industrial power. Europe was aflame with war, and Japan had been supplying the Allied Powers with resources and manufacturing. His goal was to take part in the impressive profits that were being made there.

By some curious twist of his fate, his travels took him to a little kimono shop in Tokyo, where he met Levi. Not only was Levi beautiful, but he struck Erwin as extremely intelligent with a sharp mind for business as well. He’d later learn that Levi was originally from the slums. He was born into a family hailing from a long and ancient line of samurai, they were once akin to nobility. But in an age where the samurai no longer had a place in modern society, the family name faded into obscurity, along with their money and power. Levi’s mother died when he was young, leaving him in the care of his uncle - a disgraced former samurai bitterly gambling and drinking his life away. His uncle owed an exorbitant amount of money to unsavoury characters, and young Levi was taken away and ordered to pay off his uncle’s debts with his body.  

Even despite his station, Levi was stubbornly ambitious and eventually earned and saved enough money not only to pay off his uncle’s debts before the old man died, but enough to buy his own freedom as well. After that, he worked three jobs by day and taught himself English by night before finally saving enough to open a business of his own.

By the time Erwin met him, Levi was single handedly running both a kimono shop and a small tea shop. Erwin was an austere man who valued self-discipline and would never entertain the idea that there was such thing as love at first sight. Yet, he would be lying if he said that his interest in Levi was strictly for business - he was completely and utterly captivated by him before his first visit to his little kimono shop had even ended.

He put his own business venture on the back burner and began courting Levi instead, determined to make him his. After all, Erwin was nothing short of tenacious when he chased after the things he wanted. Levi was resistant at first, unsure as to why this handsome _gaijin_ came to his shop to pester him every day. But he eventually warmed up to him over the course of a few months, and when Erwin asked him return with him to America at the end of winter, Levi agreed.

In the end, Erwin didn’t end up investing in Japanese manufacturing like he originally planned. But in bringing Levi back to America with him, he was bringing back what would be one of his most valuable assets. It was on their journey back that Erwin gave him the name _Levi_ \- short for _Leviathan_ , which was what came to mind when he first saw the intricate dragon tattoo that snaked up Levi’s back. It was a brand, Levi told him, and it marked him as the property of the men who had enslaved him in a brothel during his youth. But to Erwin, the tattoo was no symbol of ownership. It was a symbol of Levi’s extraordinary strength and will.

Not more than a week after arriving back on American soil, they were married. Erwin in his best suit, and Levi in a stunning white silk kimono. Erwin had been twenty four, and Levi just nineteen years old.

For that first year, the newlyweds were very happy together. When the couple next door was killed in an automobile accident, Erwin and Levi even took in their young son, Eren, and raised him as their own. It was almost like they had a little family, and for a while it seemed that they might live peacefully and quietly. But when the United States declared war on Germany, Erwin was one of many men who was drafted into the army. And so he left Levi behind and went off to Europe to fight in the war that still raged on there, returning a year later with one arm less. But Levi was still waiting for him when he came back, and despite the time that had passed, he was still as loyal as ever.

Even though the war was over, their futures remained uncertain. They had very little money, and it was difficult for Erwin to find employment when he only had one arm. Levi worked hard to support them by taking entire days’ worth of shifts at a small local hand laundry, but it wasn’t enough. Erwin feared that Levi would be forced to turn back to prostitution in order to feed their family, and he swore that he would not allow that to happen.

For them, Prohibition becoming law was a blessing in disguise, and Erwin was quick to jump at the opportunity to make money through any means. Even if those means were unlawful. And being the resourceful man he was, it didn’t take long at all for Erwin to begin raking in piles upon piles of cash.

Levi, it turned out, was the perfect partner for Erwin in all of this both personally and strategically. As a spouse, he was dutiful and obedient, attentive to Erwin’s needs and skilled in the domestic arts. He could cook, clean, and sew better than Erwin’s own mother had been able to when she was still alive. In their less than legal business dealings, he was shrewd, remarkably good with numbers, and fiercely loyal. Erwin’s subordinates quickly learned to respect his young spouse; Erwin had no tolerance for those who spoke disdainfully of Levi, and Levi himself was equally unforgiving.

At first, Levi served only as Erwin’s bookkeeper. He meticulously kept track of finances, transactions, and inventory as he had before in his kimono and tea shops, recording all of the numbers and figures in large leather books. But he had samurai blood in his veins, and he was not satisfied to play a passive role. He demanded to be brought along when Erwin went out to meet with associates and contacts, and unafraid of the danger it might entail and determined to remain at his husband’s side. It was unusual indeed for a man like Erwin Smith to be accompanied by his spouse during confrontations or meetings, but he didn’t mind Levi’s presence there in the least. After all, there was nobody that he trusted more than Levi.

Erwin smiled fondly at the thought as he took a sip of his whiskey, enjoying the pleasant burn that crawled through his chest when he swallowed the liquid down. It was a small wonder why people were willing to pay so much for the stuff, even when it had been outlawed entirely.

“Erwin? May I come in? There’s something I need to speak with you about.”

The sound of Levi’s voice made him look up from his newspaper, and he nodded as he folded the paper up and set it back down on his desk. “Of course. Anything for you, my love,” he smiled, beckoning his spouse closer, “Come here, sit with me.”

But Levi didn’t seem to be in the mood to indulge him, and he stopped a few steps away from Erwin with his arms crossed over his chest and a sour look on his face. Of course, Erwin didn’t say it out loud, but he had always found that Levi’s boyish features actually made him look rather adorable when he was displeased.  

“You do know that Eren missed school today, don’t you?”

“Did he, now?”

“Yes, Erwin,” Levi answered, clearly annoyed at Erwin’s unruffled tone, “He did. He was with Jean, and they got into a fight with some boys working for Pixis. The police picked him up, and I had to go have a chat with your friend Nile. But that’s not the problem. Why did Eren miss school in the first place?”

“Ah. I imagine it was because I sent him on an errand.”

“It wasn’t just any errand. He told me that you instructed him to see _Nicholas Lobov_. Christ, Erwin. What on earth were you thinking, sending him over there? I couldn’t give a shit about that old drunkard Dot Pixis or his idiot thugs, but you know how dangerous Lobov is. I don’t want Eren involved in any of that, not when he should be focusing on his studies.”

Erwin sighed before downing the rest of his whiskey and setting the empty glass down next to his newspaper. This was going to be a long conversation indeed. “Eren is a member of this family. He has responsibilities, too, and it’s time that he starts earning his keep. He should be allowed to do his part in the family business if he wants to.”

“I have raised that boy since he was four,” Levi retorted, “And I’ll hang myself before I let him throw away his future.”  

“His future is not yours to choose.”

“And it isn’t yours, either!” Levi snapped, “I don’t want any of this for him. I want him to have a normal life! He idolises you, you know. He’d do anything for you if he thought it would help you. You’re taking advantage of that-”

“That’s enough, Levi,” Erwin boomed, standing up from his seat and rising to his full height, “You cannot coddle Eren for the rest of his life because you are unable to have children of your own. He is fifteen years old now. Almost a man. Boys his age have been through far worse. In fact, when you were even younger than he is now, you were already making a living on your back.”

He was easily at least three heads taller than Levi while standing, but Levi refused to surrender. Instead, he glared squarely back at Erwin with his fists clenched at his sides, unwilling to budge. Neither of them were going to back down anytime soon by the looks of it. For a moment, both of them were completely silent. And then Levi was the first to speak again.

“You bastard,” he hissed, his voice quivering with rage, “You promised me that you would _never_ bring up my past ever again.”

Erwin’s shoulders sagged as the weight of his mistake hit him like a bullet to the chest. He had the utmost of respect for Levi and never wanted to hurt him, be it physically or verbally. But in that moment, he had lost his temper and wound up saying something nasty that he instantly regretted.

“Levi, I’m sorry,” he sighed, running a hand through his hair in exasperation, “That was a despicable thing for me to say, I don’t know what on earth came over me. You have every right to be upset.”

“So what do you want, Erwin?” Levi asked him quietly after another brief moment of silence, “Do you want Eren to suffer like I did when I was young? You want him to abandon his prospects for the sake of our profits? He’s doing very well in school, you’d be so proud of him if you were paying any attention to that.”

Erwin strode towards Levi and closed the space between him, reaching out to cup Levi’s face in his palm. Levi made no move to resist, his gaze flickering up to meet his, and Erwin felt a rush of affection for his partner.

Levi was completely loyal to him and never questioned anything he said or did, but that didn’t mean he was a mindless drone with no voice of his own. On their wedding day, Erwin had sworn to himself that he would never take Levi for granted. He was a fortunate man indeed to have someone like Levi at his side, someone who loved him so deeply that he had willingly left his home to follow him across the ocean back to America. Even when Erwin lost an arm fighting in the war, Levi remained utterly devoted to him while anyone else might have abandoned him. Despite everything, the two of them would still have their occasional disagreements and arguments behind closed doors, but that was natural for a couple that had been married for as long as they had.

It made sense that their disagreement over Eren was what finally caused Levi to openly question his orders. His spouse was exceedingly protective of Eren and sensitive to anything that might have a negative impact on him, especially since the boy had been orphaned at a young age. Levi also lost his parents at a similar age, and Erwin knew that Levi wanted with every fibre of his being to give Eren the safe and secure childhood that he himself had been robbed of. But Eren wasn’t a child anymore, and Levi couldn’t protect him forever.

“I love you more than anything else in the world, and I know you only want what’s best for our family,” Erwin murmured, leaning down to kiss Levi on the forehead. “But I need you to trust me, Levi. Do you trust me?”

“Yes,” Levi whispered, “Yes, I trust you. You know I do.”

“And that is not something that I take lightly. If it’s what you want, I will not ask anything of Eren until he finishes his studies. But after that...you must let him make his own decision.”  

“I understand.”

“Thank you, Levi,” Erwin smiled as he took Levi’s hand in his own, “Now let’s get to bed, I’m exhausted.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...and they probably banged all night after that.
> 
> (Erwin and Levi's marriage would obviously be a historical contradiction but I'm still trying to figure out how to address that.)


	4. lobov

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More backstory I guess???? Please note that the entirety of this chapter takes place in the past!

_**April 1918, Los Angeles.** _

“Eren, hurry and finish your breakfast! You’ll be late for school!”

Six-year-old Eren’s only response was a garbled sound as he attempted to reply with a mouthful of eggs and toast, and he emitted another strangled sound of protest as Levi snatched his plate away to wash.

“I’m not done eating!” he wailed as he swallowed, “What if I get hungry?”

“Don’t be silly. I packed you an extra sandwich, you can eat it on the way to school,” Levi answered briskly, “Now stop complaining and go brush your teeth, we’ll miss the trolley.”

As Eren ran upstairs to brush his teeth and get dressed, the paper boy rode by on his bicycle to toss that morning’s paper onto the porch. Hurriedly, Levi ran to grab it and hastily unfolded it, flipping to the same pages he checked every day - the war obituary. He scanned the list of names printed there with his breath caught in his throat, praying that he would not see his husband’s name among those of the fallen.

It was only when he had double checked the obituary and was certain Erwin’s name was not included that he finally allowed himself to breathe. The sound of Eren coming back down the stairs was his cue to fold up the paper and tuck it under his arm, he’d read the rest of the day’s news later on the trolley. For a few moments, he could go about his day with the reassurance that Erwin was well and safe. But the apprehension always came back, the constant fear that the next day’s paper would state otherwise.

“I’m ready!” Eren announced, hopping onto the porch to join Levi. He was dressed smartly in his school uniform, a broad grin on his face. Quickly, Levi brushed his wild brown hair out of his face to make it appear neater before ushering him off the porch and down the street towards the corner where the trolley stopped to pick up its passengers.

When they boarded the trolley, several heads turned to look their way and their gazes lingered there for longer than was comfortable. Eren was oblivious, too young to understand why people always stopped and stared at Levi when they were in town. But Levi was all too aware. He wasn’t the only Japanese immigrant in the city, in fact it was common knowledge that thousands of men and women had come across the sea from places like China and Japan to seek employment in America. But while many quickly adapted to Western dress, Levi staunchly refused to stop wearing the _kimono_. Let people stare, he couldn’t care less what they thought. He’d been taught by his late uncle to always hold his head high, and he’d be damned if he didn’t do just that.

Eren loved riding the trolley, fascinated by how the electrical streetcars could get so many people across town and back every day. He sat in Levi’s lap, excitedly pointing at people walking dogs on the street, automobiles chugging by, and the cables above them that powered the trolley.

“Who makes the trolleys?” Eren asked curiously as he waved to a group of ladies on the pavement, eyes wide and bright.

“The Pacific Electric Railway,” Levi answered, ruffling Eren’s hair fondly, “It’s a big company.”

“I want to make trolleys when I grow up, too,” Eren announced, “All sorts of trolleys and cars and trains, lots of things that will go really fast. Can I do that?”

“Of course, love,” Levi said, “You can do anything you like if you keep up with your studies. So you’ll work very hard in school today, won’t you?”

“Yes, sir!”

As Eren continued to gawk at all the cars going by, Levi flipped the newspaper open again. As usual, he was planning to read all the news about the war still raging in Europe, but an advertisement caught his eye first.

 _SECRETARY WANTED_ , it declared in bold capital letters, _Office experience preferred, inquire today._ An address was printed underneath, and Levi recognised it as being close to an expensive restaurant Erwin had taken him to once when they had first gotten married.

Now that Eren was attending school, Levi didn’t have to stay at home all day to look after him. And with Erwin away fighting in the war, there was no longer someone in the family bringing in a regular income to put food on the table. Levi figured now was as good of a time as any for him to find a job and start working. He’d run two shops by himself back in Japan, idling the days away at home just wasn’t his style.

After dropping Eren off at school, Levi took another trolley downtown to the address printed on the advertisement. There was no phone number provided, so he figured the only thing to do was to visit the office itself and see who he ought to speak with regarding the position. According to the advertisement it was a construction company of some sort, and if the sheer size of the office building was anything to go by, then most likely it was a profitable company indeed. Unintimidated, Levi got off the trolley as it screeched to a stop and marched right up to the front doors.

The lobby was just as grand as the building’s exterior, adorned with columns and a coffered ceiling. Levi found it all rather gaudy and unnecessary, but he supposed such lavish decorations were only to be expected from a company that made so much money.

There was a portly, balding man standing in the centre of the lobby smoking a cigar. When he turned to look at Levi, Levi could see that he had dark, sunken eyes an unpleasant moustache sitting on his upper lip.

“Are you lost, little bird?” the man asked, looking Levi up and down with a disdain written clearly across his sour features, “Your kind doesn’t tend to just stroll into a place like this.”

Levi bristled, but kept his own expression neutral. “I’m not lost,” he answered evenly, “In fact, I believe I’m exactly where I want to be, sir. I came to ask about the secretary position, I saw an advertisement for the post in today’s newspaper.”

“Did you, indeed?” the man said, voice dripping with condescension. “Well then, I suppose introductions are in order, then. My name is Nicholas Lobov. I own this company, and as for that position, the secretary in question would be working directly under me. And what are you called, little bird?”

“Levi Smith.”

“Come on then, Levi Smith. Let’s talk in my office.”

Lobov led Levi into his office and sat down behind his desk, gesturing at Levi to sit down as well. Wordlessly, Levi complied, smoothing out the front of his kimono as Lobov continued to examine him through the clouds of cigar smoke as if he was a rare scientific specimen that had never before been seen by the likes of man.

“Well then,” Lobov began between drags of his cigar, “First things first. Do you know how to use a typewriter?”

Levi hesitated.

“No, sir,” he finally answered truthfully, “I don’t. But I can learn. I’m a hard worker and I learn very quickly.”

“Do you have any proof of that?”

“I _am_ the proof,” Levi replied without missing a beat, “Just listen to me speak - I taught myself to speak English, and how to read and write it, too. I’m quite sure I can learn to use a typewriter rather easily. Operating a machine isn’t as complex as learning a different language, after all.”

“Do you have any previous experience as a secretary, or any experience at all in an office setting?”

“Not in an office, strictly. But I owned and ran two shops on my own, in my home country. A tea shop and a _kimono_ shop. I managed all of the finances and budget by myself, as well as the ordering of supplies and inventory, processing of transactions, and maintenance of records.”

“And where is your home country, exactly?”

“Japan.”

“What brought you over here, I wonder?”

“An American man asked me to marry him,” Levi answered simply, and Lobov’s lip twitched in amusement.

“Is that so?” he asked as he reached across his desk to snuff out his disintegrating cigar in a ceramic ashtray, “That man wouldn’t happen to be Erwin Smith, would it?”

“Yes,” Levi answered in surprise, “How did you know?”

“I’d heard the rumours of Smith taking a Japanese spouse, so when you told me your surname was also Smith, I started to wonder,” Lobov said as he leaned back in his chair, “A few years back, he was put in charge of one of the factories my company built - one of my properties. Then I heard that he got on a ship to Japan to invest in some of the factories there. What’s Smith up to nowadays?”

“He’s in France, fighting in the war.”

“I see. It must be hard on you.”

“Yes,” Levi admitted, “It is hard. We have a boy, he’s six years old. With Erwin away, there’s only me left to take care of him. So you can see why I’m seeking employment.”

“Indeed,” Lobov mused, rubbing his moustache. “Yes, I understand completely.” He licked his lips rather conspicuously as he continued to stare at Levi, an odd look in his eyes. Something about it made Levi strangely uncomfortable, but he kept silent.

“I like you, Levi Smith,” Lobov continued, “I’m very good at reading people, you see, and I can tell you’re very clever. I’d like to hire you. You can begin tomorrow, you’ll start at eight o’clock in the morning and end at three o’clock. First order of business, you’ll learn to use the typewriter.”

“Of course, sir,” Levi replied quickly. To be honest, he was rather surprised that he’d been hired so easily. “Thank you very much, sir. I’ll work very hard.”

Starting from then, Levi began working as Lobov’s secretary. Every morning after he dropped Eren off at school, he would head downtown to the office and arrive promptly at eight o’clock in the morning and work until three o’clock in the afternoon, which was when he would hop back on the trolley to pick Eren up and take him home. For the most part, the majority of the tasks that Lobov asked him to do were menial. Preparing his tea, fetching his cigars, bringing him his mail. After a few weeks, Lobov began trusting him with bigger tasks in addition to all of that - client communication, keeping records, drafting letters, and checking budgets. True to his word, Levi worked hard, and gave Lobov no reasons to complain about or criticise his work. Sometimes Lobov would stare at him, and Levi was well aware that he was looking at his rear end. But other than that, the job was tolerable.

Life went on like that for a while. Checking the obituary every day, taking Eren to school, going to work, coming home, starting all over again the next day. It was a repetitive routine, but Levi was glad to be doing something useful during the day that brought in some money. Still, he missed Erwin terribly, and Eren did, too. Every now and then, a letter from Erwin would arrive in the post, written from the front lines. Levi would treasure each and every one of them and keep them all in the bottom drawer of his dresser. He prayed desperately for the war to end quickly, so Erwin could finally come home and they could be a family again.

Although Levi did his best to remain focused at work, he couldn’t help but let his thoughts drift to his husband every now and then while he was in the office. He was constantly worried about him, even though Erwin would ask him not to fret in his letters. But after a while, the letters stopped coming, and it made Levi sick with dread. He checked the obituaries frantically, but even though Erwin’s name did not appear in the lists of dead or missing, it did little to assuage his fears. Had he been injured?

“You seem preoccupied,” Lobov remarked one day as Levi poured him a cup of tea, “What’s the matter, Levi?”

“It’s nothing, sir,” Levi answered as he handed Lobov his freshly filled cup, but Lobov did not appear convinced.

“If whatever’s on your mind will interfere with your concentration and ability to work, then I demand to know what it is.”

“I’m sorry, sir,” Levi apologised, bowing his head, “It’s just...It’s just that I haven’t heard from my husband in a long time, that’s all. He is usually very consistent with writing letters home, but I haven’t received any for a while. I’m afraid that something might have happened to him.”

Lobov was silent for a moment, scratching contemplatively at his moustache as he stared at his tea. Then his gaze was suddenly back on Levi, and something in his eyes made Levi’s insides turn.

“Say, little bird,” he began, using that nickname that Levi so despised, “Have you ever thought about what you’ll do if your husband doesn’t come back from war?”

“What are you talking about?” Levi asked stiffly, “Of course he’ll come back.”

“But suppose he doesn’t,” Lobov continued, rising from his chair and reaching out to place a hand on Levi’s shoulder, “Suppose he’s killed in the trenches. What would you do then? You’d be all alone, with a boy to raise. You’ll get a war widow’s pension, of course, but that won’t sustain you for long.”

“I’m sorry, sir, but I don’t want to discuss this right now,” Levi said, pulling away from Lobov’s unwelcome touch, “If you’ll excuse me, I have a memo to finish typing.” He quickly turned away and tried to leave, but Lobov grabbed him by the wrist before he could take another step towards the door.

“If you need some extra money,” Lobov told him, his grip on his wrist tightening, “I do have an additional... _business venture_ , shall we say, that I’ve been running. I daresay a pretty thing like you would make me a lot of money there - something a little more rare and exotic, for those with certain proclivities.”

Every cell of Levi’s body went cold. He wasn’t stupid, he knew exactly what kind of a _business_ Lobov was talking about. He’d had enough access to Lobov’s books to know that there was money coming into the company from a third source, an outside business. He hadn’t thought much of it before, but now it was clear to him where all that money had come from and the very thought filled him with revulsion. He was done sleeping with men for money, those days were long behind him. He had earned his way out of that life with his own hard work and willpower alone, and he refused to ever go back to it.

“I appreciate the offer, sir, but I don’t do that,” he managed to bite out as Lobov looked hungrily down at him, “Please don’t insult me.”

“You need to think about your boy, Levi,” Lobov insisted, “I know you want the very best for him, but are you going to let your own pride stop you from being able to feed him? Clothe him? Send him to university one day?”

“Don’t you dare bring Eren into this, and don’t you dare presume that my husband won’t come back. You know nothing about it.”

“Are you sure you want to speak to me like that?” Lobov asked, an amused expression on his face. “After everything I’ve done for you? Not everyone else out there will be as kind to you as I have, you know. Most people out there wouldn’t even consider hiring a Japanese-”

“I’ll take my chances, sir,” Levi snapped, jerking his wrist out of Lobov’s hold, “I quit. Not that it’ll affect you much - I don’t imagine you’ll need a new secretary after the police find out about your other _business venture_.”

“I won’t stop you from leaving,” Lobov replied. "Efficient secretaries are a dime a dozen. But like I said, little bird - you’ll want to think about your boy. I would hate for something to happen to that child, should the police suddenly decide they want to investigate my business.”

“You’re fucking insane.”

“Says the one who’s just put an innocent child’s life in danger.”

At a loss for words, Levi stared furiously back at Lobov with his fists clenched tightly at his sides, hardly daring to believe that the man would threaten him like this. Both of them were silent, neither party willing to back down. Until Levi finally gave Lobov one last angry glare and stormed out of the office.  

 

* * *

 

**_August 1918, France._ **

It was only in the evening, after the dust of battle had settled, that the courier was able to bring Erwin the letter. It’d been a few weeks since he lost his arm, and he’d been bedridden ever since then in one of the dingy, dirty medical tents. He was one of the lucky ones, he supposed. He was still alive at the very least. Many of his comrades had been blown to bits by German artillery, with no bodies left to recover. It would be a while until they’d have the chance to ship him back home under honourable discharge - a man with only one arm had no use as a soldier, apparently.

He thanked the courier and tore the letter open with his only remaining hand, leaving sloppy jagged edges on the envelope. Neatness was his last priority when he had a letter from Levi to read. His spouse’s letters brought him unspeakable volumes of comfort here, and he could forget for just a few minutes that he was surrounded by death and destruction.

_Dear Erwin,_

_I hope with all my heart you are well. I’ve been reading the paper to keep up with news about the war while I wait for your letters. I check the obituary every day to make sure your name is not there. I know my Erwin is clever and strong, he will not be killed so easily. But I cannot help but worry. I haven’t had any letters from you in so long. Perhaps I am being paranoid, perhaps you are only too busy to reply. I will keep hoping for the best._

_I miss you terribly. Eren does, too. He asks me every day when you will come back. I must admit that it’s been difficult, with you away. I had to quit my job today. I’ll tell you why when you return, I don’t think I should to write it down in a letter. Other than that, things are quiet at home. Eren has a peculiar hobby now, catching beetles. He’s always looking for them in the garden and bringing them inside. I keep telling him not to bring those disgusting things indoors, but he’s very stubborn. He keeps them inside empty jam jars as if they were pets, there are so many jars collected in his bedroom now. Let us hope they don’t get loose._

_Are you eating well, Erwin? Are you warm enough at night? Are your comrades good company? I wish I was there to look after you. Please be safe. And please write back if you have a chance. I know you must be unbelievably busy, but I can’t sleep at night not knowing whether or not you are all right._

_Thinking of you every moment and missing you always._

_Yours,  
_ _Levi._

Erwin sighed, slumping back down against his pillow. He’d lost his right arm and hand - his writing hand. He hadn’t been able to write back to Levi because of that. He could have asked someone to write a letter for him, but he hadn’t wanted to alarm Levi with a letter in handwriting that was not his own. In fact, he hadn’t wanted to tell Levi yet at all about what had happened to him. He knew Levi had many things to worry about by himself at home, and he didn’t want to add yet another thing to that extensive list of worries.

Even worse was the fear that Levi might not even want him anymore after this.

But it pained Erwin to know that Levi was worried sick about him, terrified of the uncertainty of whether or not his husband was alive. He owed Levi a reply, no matter what his current situation was.

“You doing all right?”

Erwin looked up at the sound of someone else’s voice, a smile coming to his face as Mike Zacharius entered the medical tent. Mike was from Alabama, he and Erwin had met when they’d been assigned to the same unit. He was a likeable man with sharp instincts and an uncanny ability to sniff out trouble - quite literally. Their unit had been saved from many gas attacks because Mike had sensed it in the air before they got close.

“Yes, I’m fine, Mike. How’s Nile?”

“Looking a lot better than you. Medics don’t reckon he’s got any brain damage despite that head injury.”

“Good. I’m glad.”

“You saved him. He wants to talk to you about that, you know,” Mike replied, “I imagine he wants to thank you. But he hasn’t gathered the guts to do it yet. He blames himself for what happened to you.”

“He shouldn’t,” Erwin sighed, “It was my own choice. But if he needs time, I understand. By the way, Mike, could you do me a favour?”

“Anything you need.”

Erwin sat up straighter in bed, using his remaining arm to support himself as he propped himself up as well as he could on the thin metal frame of the medical cot. “I need to write a letter to someone, but I need your help with the actual...writing. If I read out to you what to write, could you do that for me?”

“Of course I can,” Mike said, “Who are you writing to?”

A fond smile came across Erwin’s face.

“My spouse back home. His name’s Levi.”

Mike looked surprised at this. “I didn’t know you had someone back home,” he remarked, “What’s he look like?”

“Beautiful,” Erwin answered, “The most beautiful creature I’ve ever seen in my entire life. Here, I’ve got a photograph.” He reached into his breast pocket to pull out a small, grainy photograph that he kept on his person always, holding it out for Mike to see. He’d never thought of himself as a sentimental man, or even much of a romantic, but he supposed that all of that had changed once he met and married Levi. Levi was thousands of miles away, but being able to see his face - even if only just in a photograph - brought him tremendous comfort and gave him strength in the midst of this terrible war. “Let’s get started on writing that letter, shall we?”

“Sure thing,” Mike said, “Let me get a pen and paper.”

_My darling Levi,_

_Reading your letters makes me indescribably happy. You have no idea how comforting it is to have your words here, and when I read them, I can hear your voice in my mind. It’s almost as if you’re right here with me, as I often find myself wishing you were._

_I am sorry for not writing to you in a few weeks. I am well now, but I must inform you that I have lost my right arm due to an exploding German mortar. It would have killed Nile if I hadn’t rushed to pull him back. You remember my old friend Nile, don’t you? He was at our wedding. I’m relieved he’s all right. Anyway, that was the reason why I was unable to write to you. For a while I thought I shouldn’t even tell you about what happened. I didn’t want you to worry. But I was wrong to keep you in the dark, and I hope you can forgive me for that. My comrade Mike is writing this letter for me as I dictate - I hope you can meet him one day, I think he and you would really get on very well._

_I know it sounds grim, but like I said - I don’t want you to worry. There is really nothing to be alarmed about. I am still alive, and that is already a very fortunate thing indeed. The healing process is going well and once my condition is stable enough, I’ll be sent home on honourable discharge. However, I must admit that there’s so much more fighting I wish I could do. It seems unfair that I am to be sent home while my comrades must continue on in the trenches, but I am very much looking forward to seeing you and Eren again._

_I do understand that you deserve much more than a one-armed cripple for a husband. But even with one arm less, I’m still the same man I was when I saw you last, and I am determined to carry on as normal. Levi, I want nothing more than for you to be happy. I don't want you to be worried or stressed because of work or money. If you’ll still have me, I swear to you that once I am home, I will do everything I can to give you the good life that you deserve. I can’t wait to see you and hold you again...even with only one arm._

\- _Erwin_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well I guess there's some more context on why Levi's so apprehensive of dealing with shady ass Lobov? For some reason this chapter ended up becoming quite long. I have no idea where this fic is going or what I'm even doing with the format lmao.


	5. the world

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shorter chapter this time. Hopefully will be struck with the inspiration/motivation to get another one in before the holidays. Someone help me.

When Erwin entered the kitchen, it was already almost sundown. He found Levi there seated by himself at the dinner table, going through the most recent figures in a hefty stack of transaction books. The faint sunlight filtering through the curtains had bathed him in a warm, muted glow that made Erwin feel oddly nostalgic - curiously enough, in this light Levi looked years younger. His thoughts drifted back to a frosty Japanese winter afternoon many years ago, sitting on the porch outside of Levi’s kimono shop despite the cold. He remembered having a cup of steaming tea in one hand while Levi had a white camellia blossom tucked behind one ear, strikingly lovely next to rosy cheeks and raven-black hair. Erwin had never seen a sight so beautiful before. 

He had asked Levi to marry him right then in that moment. Young, full of ambition, and hopelessly in love, he promised Levi the world if he’d come back to America with him.

_ “I don’t want the world,” _ was Levi’s answer,  _ “Just you is enough.” _

It was a nice memory to think back on, but they were different people now. Erwin still loved Levi more than anything, of course, but after over a decade of marriage, things changed a little. This would especially be the case when one took up the line of work that Erwin had. The nature of that work did tend to put a certain strain on relationships, especially the personal ones. Besides, Erwin regrettably had little time for reminiscing, no matter how pleasant the reverie happened to be. He was a busy man with appointments to keep, after all. He forced himself back to the present, finishing up the buttons on his shirt as he finally addressed his spouse. 

“I think you’ve been working quite long enough, Levi.  You’ve already reviewed those numbers, haven’t you? There shouldn’t be anything new right now. Why don’t you have a rest? I haven’t seen you budge from that spot all afternoon.”

Levi glanced up from his work, seemingly startled by the sound of Erwin’s voice. Apparently, he had been so absorbed in the numbers that he hadn’t noticed his husband entering the kitchen. “I just want to be sure that everything is correct, I’ll be finished in a few minutes,” he replied quickly, “It doesn’t hurt to be careful. Anyway, you’re dressed quite sharply. Are you going somewhere?” 

“Yes,” Erwin said, “I’ll be going to a meeting tonight downtown. Mike is driving me. I suspect it’ll take some time, so don’t wait for me to start dinner.”

Levi frowned, closing his book. “What kind of meeting?” he asked as he rose from his seat, “Shall I come with you?”

“It’s nothing that you need to worry about,” Erwin answered evenly. He looked back away from Levi, briskly straightening the lapels of his coat, “A trivial matter, really, but something I need to attend to in person nonetheless. You know I don’t like to waste your time.” 

Levi gave Erwin a long look, his brows slightly furrowed towards the centre as he pursed his lips. Erwin knew that look well, it was the look he always gave him when he didn’t like what he was saying. He might not explicitly voice his displeasure very often at all, but that was hardly necessary when he had an expression like that on his face. 

“You’re unhappy, aren’t you?” Erwin sighed, “I don’t like seeing you with a glum face. What’s the matter?” He had places to be and hardly had the time to deal with an unhappy spouse, but things wouldn’t end well for him if he tried to simply brush Levi off. 

“Is it really a trivial matter, as you said?” Levi asked, “You’re not keeping things from me, are you, Erwin?”

“And what makes you think I would keep anything from you?”

“I don’t know. But clearly, you see a need to keep me out of the loop. First, involving Eren in your schemes without letting me know, and now you’re off to some secret meeting that you didn’t think to inform me about before.  _ Trivial _ my arse. I trust you, Erwin. But I know you’re very fond of subterfuge, sneaky bastard that you are, so don’t try to play that kind of game with me. I deserve more than that.”

“Yes, of course you do,” Erwin said dismissively. He was a patient man, but he really didn’t have time to get himself into a meaningless argument. “Although I hardly think it’s necessary to tell you every single detail of my day. Shall I tell you what I ate for breakfast as well? And then shall I describe to you the day’s bowel movements?” 

“Don’t be an arse, Erwin. You know what I mean.”

Outside, a car horn sounded to signal Mike’s arrival. If Erwin was going to make it to his meeting on time, then he had to cut the conversation short. Quickly, he turned away from Levi. 

“Mike’s waiting outside with the car. I’m going to be late, I have to go now.” He moved towards the door, and in what seemed like a moment of desperation, Levi reached out and grabbed him by the sleeve.

“Erwin!” he snapped, “You’re not going a single step further until you tell me where you’re going. For god’s sake, we’ve been married for over ten years now-”

“Yes, I know we have,” Erwin snarled as he angrily jerked his sleeve away from Levi’s insistent grasp.  “You are my spouse, Levi, but you will do well to remember that I am still in charge of our business operations. In that regard, you  _ will _ obey my orders where our business is concerned, and I’m ordering you now to leave it alone.” 

Levi stared wide-eyed at Erwin, dumbfounded. His hand still hovered motionless in the air where it had been holding onto Erwin’s sleeve just a moment before. In any other situation, his expression might have been comical. But Erwin was quickly losing patience with Levi’s rebelliousness as of late, it had led them into two separate arguments now over the course of the past few days and he was in no mood for it. 

“Erwin,” Levi managed to say, his voice faltering, “Erwin, I...”

“We’ll talk about it when I return,” Erwin finished for him, swiftly ending their conversation and leaving no opportunity for protests. Without another word, he strode out of the kitchen and out the door where the car was waiting. 

“You all right, boss?” Mike asked as Erwin clambered into the car, “You don’t look to be in a good mood. Let me guess - Levi busting your balls again?” 

“Let’s not talk about it,” Erwin grunted, “Just drive.” 

“Sure thing, boss,” Mike replied agreeably as he turned on the ignition and readjusted his wool cap, “Your necktie isn’t straight though. Might want to fix that on the way over.” 

“Of course it isn’t,” Erwin muttered in exasperation, although he was talking more to himself than to Mike. Levi was in the habit of straightening his tie for him every day before he walked out of the door, years of working in a self-run garment shop had made him meticulous like that when it came to the appearance of clothing. It was almost like a little ritual for them, although Levi hadn’t had the chance to do so today before Erwin had all but stormed out of the house and left him standing by himself in the kitchen. 

Sighing, the blond man attempted to adjust his tie by himself. He was beginning to regret the tone he had used when he’d spoken to Levi - he didn’t remember ever having to raise his voice against him in so many instances within such a period of time. Even worse, though, had been that frightening fire that had flared up inside of his chest. Sometimes he and Levi could get on each other’s nerves, but that was to be expected. Even for a couple that loved each other very much, that was normal. But Erwin’s temper had never risen to the point that he’d been struck by such an urge - 

The urge to hit Levi. 

In the heat of the moment, he had seriously considered it. It would have been too easy to just strike him across the face right there where he stood, make him shut up. Now that he’d had a moment to calm down in the backseat of the car, far away from Levi, he understood the seriousness of what he had almost done. 

He knew that Levi had been mistreated in his youth, and the last thing he wanted to do was become one of those men who’d hurt him because they had the power to do so. Levi was more than capable of defending himself, but he would never physically fight back against Erwin if it came to it. 

If the rational part of Erwin’s mind hadn’t taken over back there and he’d actually raised a hand against Levi, he didn’t know if he would have been able to forgive himself. He loved Levi with all of his heart. He truly did. But the two of them weren’t so young anymore, and people saw things through different eyes when they were older. As harsh as it sounded, they weren’t the same people who’d first fallen in love with one another all those years ago. Time passed, and with it, the old passion inevitably dwindled. The arguments increased, and their patience waned. 

First they had fought about Eren, now they were fighting over this. Erwin hadn’t wanted it to come to this, but he had a good reason to keep Levi in the dark regarding where he was going, what he was doing, and who exactly he was meeting with.

After their visit to Reeves’ shop, Erwin had decided to do some investigation on where the missing difference of money had gone. He’d asked Jean to do some scouting for him, and when Eren asked to help, naturally he had agreed. The two boys discovered that Reeves had been sending money to none other than Nicholas Lobov as well, which was of course a direct violation with the deal Reeves had made with Erwin. In exchange for eighty percent of the fees he collected from clients during the length of their contract, Erwin’s men would offer Reeves and his family protection from Dot Pixis’ thugs, who he’d found himself in hot water with. The problem wasn’t only that some of the money they agreed upon was going to Lobov. There was no telling whether or not Reeves was feeding information about them to Lobov, and how much information had been given. 

As soon as it was confirmed that Lobov was somehow involved, Erwin had immediately decided that he didn’t want to involve Levi anymore. He knew what had happened between them when he was away in Europe fighting in the war, and he would rather keep Levi as far away from Lobov as possible. Mike had reported hearing rumours floating around that Lobov was looking to get back into contact with a former secretary of his. What on earth Lobov wanted with Levi after all of these years was anyone’s guess, but Erwin had no intention of finding out. 

Erwin himself hadn’t seen Lobov in years. He, too, had once worked with the man. For a short period of time, he had managed a steel factory that ran in a building rented out by Lobov. Of course, this was all before he met and married Levi. But since then, Lobov had clearly branched out beyond the construction business and undertaken some other interesting projects. Brothels and gambling dens, for instance, or bribing government officials. And he’d also gotten into the bootlegging and gun running businesses, which put him in direct competition with Erwin.  

“We’re here, boss,” Mike announced as he pulled the car over to park by the curb, “I’ve called some of the others to be on standby in the vicinity, in case anything goes wrong.”

“Who did you call?”

“Eld and Gunther.”

“Good,” Erwin mused as he got out of the car. He wasn’t anticipating anything happening that would require them to come onto the scene, but it didn’t hurt to be safe. 

He and Mike entered Lobov’s office building, which was dark save for a light coming from the corner office’s window. All of his company’s employees had gone home for the night it seemed, which was just as well. 

The two of them entered the office, and as expected, they were greeted by the sight of Lobov sitting at his desk with two bodyguards standing at either side of him. Excessive, in Erwin’s opinion, but he made no comment as he gave Lobov a polite nod and extended his shake.

“Long time no see, Smith,” Lobov said as he shook Erwin’s hand firmly, “Please, have a seat. I was surprised to hear from you after all these years. It made me wonder what you wanted to meet with me about.” 

“I think you know,” Erwin answered smoothly as he sat down, “It’s to do with our mutual friend Mr. Reeves.”

An amused smile came to Lobov’s face, and he said nothing for a minute as he instead leaned back in his seat to size Erwin up with beady eyes.

“Say, where’s that Japanese doll of yours?” he asked, “I haven’t seen him in years, either. From what I hear, though, he follows you everywhere. One would think he was your bodyguard, not your spouse.” 

“Levi had a previous engagement. He won’t be joining us,” Erwin replied. He was eager to turn the conversation away from Levi, but Lobov didn’t seem to share that interest. 

“Tell me, Smith - how is Levi? Is he still as pretty as I remember? I’ve had a slew of replacement secretaries since he left the company, but none of them have been quite as competent, or nearly as enticing.” 

Erwin could start to feel anger simmering within his chest. Lobov was trying to rile him up, that was for sure. And it was working, too. But he had to keep his cool. Lobov wasn’t the first person to try and use Levi to rattle him - after all, their relationship was well known within the city’s organized crime circles - but Lobov was the only one of Erwin’s competitors who had history with Levi, too. Meeting Lobov’s prying gaze head-on, he forced himself to put that anger aside. 

“With all due respect, Mr. Lobov, I’m not here to talk about Levi. I know you’ve been asking after him around town lately, and I don’t pretend to know what you want with him. But like I said, I’m here to address an issue concerning Mr. Reeves.”

“And what issue would that be?”

“I would greatly appreciate it if you’d keep your hands out of Mr. Reeves’ business affairs,” Erwin continued, “As I’m sure you know, he entered an exclusive contract with me and it won’t benefit any of us if you interfere.” 

“Reeves brings in good money for me,” Lobov mused, “If I agree to step away, then what will you offer me?”

“I’ll give you twenty percent of the earnings from my speakeasies for the next two months. That should be more than sufficient.” 

Lobov rubbed his moustache, his smile widening.

“What you’re offering me is more than generous compared with the amount Reeves was giving me. You seem awfully eager to get me out of his business. It’s not Reeves or your contract you’re concerned about, is it? Something tells me this isn’t about business. It’s personal.”

“Do you accept my offer or not?”

Lobov was silent for a moment, seemingly deep in thought as he weighed his options. He continued rubbing his moustache in maddeningly repetitive motions as silence fell over the room. For a minute, nobody said a word, until Mike shifted awkwardly behind Erwin and cleared his throat.

“Fine, you have yourself a deal,” Lobov finally announced, “I accept your offer, Smith.”

Both men rose from their seats to shake on their agreement. Erwin felt uncomfortable somehow, shaking Lobov’s hand, but he said nothing of it and allowed no sign of discomfort to show itself on his features. His face was a mask of neutrality as he took the man’s hand, his mind calm - 

Until Lobov leaned in towards him, an unpleasant leer on his face.

“I’ll be holding you to your end of the bargain,” he murmured in a voice low enough such that only Erwin was able to hear what he was saying, “But don’t think for one second, Smith, that any amount of money in the world can let you keep your precious Levi hidden from me. I’ll find him, Smith, one way or another. You can be sure of that.”  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm a sucker for eruri tension OK
> 
> I didn't really like this chapter and I still don't know where this is going lol bye


End file.
